By Marilyn Miller

Decades ago, on a particular Spring day, the Minden High School and Springhill High School track fields would be crowded with the smiling faces of special needs athletes, along with good-hearted volunteers and coaches of all ages. This was a day of dreams and dread, a day of being the fastest, jumping the highest, throwing the furthest…or falling the hardest.

This was a day branded as the SPECIAL OLYMPICS GAMES. And the Olympians were very special people indeed.

Today, like a whisper, those two Special Olympics days in Webster Parish have disappeared. They just “aren’t” anymore. The Special Olympics Louisiana (SOLA) continues to thrive. But the coordinators, the coaches, the volunteers in Webster Parish who make the games possible have gone on to other things.

When Mirenda Canady and her 17-year-old daughter, Carla Macoy Canady, moved from Dallas to Springhill a little over a year ago, Carla missed her involvement in Special Olympics. Sure, unlike in Dallas, with its big schools, Carla could now be a part of the school dance line. She could sing in the choir at church. She was happy. But there was no Special Olympics.

“I remember at our first IEP (Individual Education Plan) meeting at North Webster High School, when they mapped out what Carla needed to be more successful, I mentioned the Special Olympics. I told them I’d be willing to join. And nobody said anything,” Mirenda recalled.

So, she got busy. She contacted SOLA and joined up! She opened a Facebook page, which starts with “Welcome to the Facebook page of Special Olympics Louisiana North Webster Parish! We’re dedicated to providing year-round sports training and competition for children and adults with intellectual disabilities.” https://specialolympicsla.org/

Mirenda spent this summer visiting and addressing the mayor and councils of Springhill and Cullen, making contacts at the library, and posting flyers throughout town. “People know me now…what I’m doing…people are more aware.”

At the same time, a total of 91 people scanned the E-Business Card, “but nobody signed up or called.” More than 50 people have “friended” the Facebook page, but no activity has come from it.

Mirenda wants the North Webster Special Olympics to be community based, because Carla loves “community.” At the same time, Mirenda wants her daughter to experience a more “inclusive” environment at school.  “Sports can make friends out of the worst enemies,” she laughed. “I don’t think that’s the case at all, but athletes partnering with the general population and the special education population, I think will create a more inclusive environment at the school. Sports unites!”

“After the first IEP team showed no enthusiasm at all, I just said to myself, I don’t want to take on that challenge…but eight months later, when Carla asked for it…Yes, Carla was the driving-force behind the Special Olympics this second time. I mentioned it the first time, but she mentioned it the second time. She said she wanted Special Olympics.”

And that’s what Mirenda wants to give her daughter and all special needs people in north Webster Parish. But first, people need to contact her to let her know they are interested. They can do that by phoning 318-578-7932.

Earlier, Mirenda was asked where she was with making her daughter’s dream come true. “Right now, I’m literally nowhere,” she answered.

All she needs in order to change that answer is a few dozen phone calls. Okay, maybe four dozen phone calls. That number is 318-578-7932. Or follow Special Olympics Louisiana at https://specialolympicsla.org/